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Written Question
Sports: LGBT+ People
Monday 9th January 2023

Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy only to back bids for major sporting events from nations which uphold LGBT+ rights.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Sport operates independently of the government, therefore the government does not back bids from other nations for major sporting events.

The Government has frank conversations at international level with our counterparts around the world on human rights issues, including LGBT rights, and we will continue to have those conversations.


Written Question
Telecommunications
Monday 31st January 2022

Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the provisions included in Paragraph 74 of the Electronic Communications Code, what assessment she has made of telecoms operators’ ability to (a) fly lines between BT poles on private land and (b) install the necessary apparatus on BT poles on private land.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill includes measures that are intended to make it easier for operators to deploy, upgrade and share telecommunications infrastructure, while protecting the rights and interests of individual landowners.

The De Minimis Impact Assessment (which can be accessed here) sets out the overall potential benefits that the Bill will deliver. Access to robust and reliable connectivity is critical to our future economic prosperity. The reforms we are bringing forward through the Bill will help achieve that goal.

The measures in the Bill were carefully developed to balance the public benefits they can deliver and any interference with individual property rights.

However, since the Bill was introduced, stakeholders have indicated that additional, substantial public benefit may be achieved if upgrading and sharing is more readily available, particularly in relation to telegraph poles installed on private land before 2017.

My officials are discussing this point with stakeholders to test the impact of the present proposals and to understand whether the correct balance has been achieved. If appropriate, changes will be considered.


Written Question
Broadband: Optical Fibres
Monday 31st January 2022

Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on full fibre rollout of the provisions included in the Product Security & Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill to allow operators to access existing infrastructure under private land without the need to agree a new wayleave.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill includes measures that are intended to make it easier for operators to deploy, upgrade and share telecommunications infrastructure, while protecting the rights and interests of individual landowners.

The De Minimis Impact Assessment (which can be accessed here) sets out the overall potential benefits that the Bill will deliver. Access to robust and reliable connectivity is critical to our future economic prosperity. The reforms we are bringing forward through the Bill will help achieve that goal.

The measures in the Bill were carefully developed to balance the public benefits they can deliver and any interference with individual property rights.

However, since the Bill was introduced, stakeholders have indicated that additional, substantial public benefit may be achieved if upgrading and sharing is more readily available, particularly in relation to telegraph poles installed on private land before 2017.

My officials are discussing this point with stakeholders to test the impact of the present proposals and to understand whether the correct balance has been achieved. If appropriate, changes will be considered.


Written Question
Telecommunications
Monday 31st January 2022

Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to amend the Electronic Communications Code to allow fixed line telecoms operators to install apparatus on poles erected before 2017 without the need for a new wayleave agreement.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill includes measures that are intended to make it easier for operators to deploy, upgrade and share telecommunications infrastructure, while protecting the rights and interests of individual landowners.

The De Minimis Impact Assessment (which can be accessed here) sets out the overall potential benefits that the Bill will deliver. Access to robust and reliable connectivity is critical to our future economic prosperity. The reforms we are bringing forward through the Bill will help achieve that goal.

The measures in the Bill were carefully developed to balance the public benefits they can deliver and any interference with individual property rights.

However, since the Bill was introduced, stakeholders have indicated that additional, substantial public benefit may be achieved if upgrading and sharing is more readily available, particularly in relation to telegraph poles installed on private land before 2017.

My officials are discussing this point with stakeholders to test the impact of the present proposals and to understand whether the correct balance has been achieved. If appropriate, changes will be considered.


Written Question
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Ivory
Friday 12th November 2021

Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of ivory items owned by or collated by her Department.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

We have not made any estimates of the number of ivory items owned by or collated in this Department or institutions owned or managed by the Government.


Written Question
Internet: Radicalism
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what representations she has received on including measures to tackle incel culture online in the Online Harms Bill.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with a wide range of stakeholders and have received representations on a variety of issues, including online incel culture. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website.


Written Question
Museums and Galleries: Coronavirus
Tuesday 10th November 2020

Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support the Government is providing to help ensure that museum curatorial staff are able to continue scientific work during the period of new national covid-19 lockdown from 5 November 2020.

Answered by Caroline Dinenage

Museums and galleries have been ordered to close under the national restrictions. In line with the regulations, curatorial staff are still able to undertake their work on site where it is not reasonably possible for them to do so from home.

Museums and galleries have made their workplaces Covid secure, in line with the guidance produced by the National Museums Directors’ Council with support from DCMS.

The Government has provided substantial financial support for museums through the Culture Recovery Fund, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and other measures, which will help museums, and other cultural organisations, continue their important work.


Written Question
Archery: Coronavirus
Tuesday 10th November 2020

Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to provide additional financial support for outdoor archery clubs during the period of new national covid-19 lockdown restrictions from 5 November 2020.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Sports and physical activity providers and facilities are at the heart of our communities, and play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active.

Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. On 22 October, the Government announced a £100m support fund for local authority leisure centres. In addition, Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund has also provided £210 million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic.

We are continuing to work with organisations to understand what they need and how we may be able to support them.


Written Question
5G
Friday 9th October 2020

Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress he has made in appointing another company to replace Huawei as a 5G supplier.

Answered by Matt Warman

Ultimately it is the responsibility of the mobile network operators to appoint suppliers to replace Huawei in their 5G networks. This will be based on their specific commercial and technical requirements.

The Government’s work on telecoms security will ensure that security and resilience are also primary considerations for operators as they make those decisions.


Written Question
Huawei: 5G
Wednesday 7th October 2020

Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that Huawei is removed from the UK 5G network.

Answered by Matt Warman

The Government has set out a clear timetable for the removal of Huawei equipment from 5G networks by 2027. To go further and faster beyond a 2027 target would add considerable - and unnecessary - further costs and delays. And the shorter we make the timetable for removal, the greater the risk of actual disruption to mobile telecoms networks.

Not all operators use Huawei. For those operators that do use Huawei, individual pathways to comply with the 2027 deadline will be a commercial decision for the individual operators.

The forthcoming Telecommunications (Security) Bill will provide the powers to place this timetable on a clear legal footing. In the meantime Ministers and senior officials are working with affected operators to ensure long term compliance.